Binaural beats
Binaural beats
Paused for now: what they are, and what plays instead.
Binaural beats, the journeys and the Beat Builder are paused for now.
Background Noises does not play binaural beats today. A binaural beat is two pure tones, one in each ear, a few hertz apart, heard as a soft pulse at the difference, and it needs stereo headphones. What plays now is the eight music stations, four nature sounds, four noise colors and 10 frequency tones, all on headphones or a speaker.
What is a binaural beat?
Two pure tones, one played to each ear at a slightly different pitch: 200 Hz on the left and 210 Hz on the right, for example. You hear a soft pulse at the difference, here ten times a second. Each ear has to hear only its own tone, which is why binaural beats need headphones. We describe the audio, never an effect: we do not claim that a binaural beat changes sleep, focus or mood.
What comes closest?
- A steady tone from Tones: one held pitch, the same in both ears, so it plays on a speaker too.
- A noise color, such as pink or brown noise, for a steady sound with no pulse at all.
What about the journeys and the Beat Builder?
They are paused with binaural beats, so the web player and the updated apps neither play nor make them. What carried over from the earlier app says what moved to your account.
Is any of this in my plan?
Premium plays the eight music and four nature stations, the noise colors and the tones, for hours. While binaural beats are paused, no plan includes them, and nothing is charged for them.
Press play.
The Free plan plays a 60-second sample of everything. Premium plays the eight music and four nature stations, the noise colors and the tones for hours.
